THE GASTRIC MUCOSA 189 



toxylin (Heiclenhain), Mallory (24), or polychrome methylene 

 blue. It has not been thought necessary to give details of the 

 application of the above stains ; they may be found in the refer- 

 ences indicated. In the description which follows acid formol 

 fixation is implied, although the observations recorded have 

 been corroborated by other methods. Where a notable differ- 

 ence occurs the special fixative concerned is mentioned. 



The Mucous Membrane as a Whole. 



It is not intended to describe the naked-eye appearances. 

 Suffice it to say that with a lens (Sprott Boyd (28)) differences 

 may be noted between the duct orifices of the pyloric region 

 and those of the remainder of the stomach. In the former 

 the mucous membrane is thicker and the ducts wider, longer, 

 and more funnel-shaped than in the latter. 



The gland-tubes are simple, but may branch shghtly towards 

 their blind ends. Several gland-tubes are usually served by 

 a common duct. Only in the part of the pyloric canal close to 

 the duodenum do the glands become markedly racemose, 

 but the glands adjacent to the oesophagus may also take on 

 a racemose character. 



A gastric gland-tube may be described as consisting, besides 

 the duct, of a superficial part, which is the portion of the 

 gland-tube immediately below the duct, and a deep part 

 composed of the remaining portion of the gland. 



The Connective Tissue. 



Between the glands lies the supporting connective tissue 

 (interglandular tissue) whicli contains plain muscle-fibres 

 arranged vertically, l)lood-vessels, lymphatics, and nerves. 

 In addition to these there are three kinds of cells in the tissue : 



(1) Finely Granular Branched Connective- 

 tissue Cells . — These stain a deep magenta with poly- 

 chrome methylene blue and a purplish blue with alcoholic 

 eosin and methylene blue. They form ])y far the most numerous 

 variety and are more numerous in the stomach than in other 



o 2 



